right now, but she was upset last night when we phoned her father. He couldn’t speak to her.’
‘I know,’ Jessie said.
‘The nurse said he was asleep.’
‘He was sedated,’ Jessie said bluntly. ‘They were putting him to bed as I left.’
‘Oh dear,’ I said. ‘Can I ask you why he was sedated?’
‘He was upset,’ Jessie said, equally bluntly. ‘When I told him of your concerns, he became very agitated and started shouting and crying. The doctor was called and said he would give him something to calm him down and help him sleep.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ I said. As I’d feared, I was responsible.
‘It’s not your fault,’ Jessie said, which surprised me. ‘Derek was in a fragile state to begin with. I told him I thought the allegations were unfounded and I had no reason to doubt his ability to parent Beth, but he still took it very badly. He feels there is a lot of prejudice against a man bringing up a daughter alone, and I think he could be right. He’s overheard mothers discussing him in the playground. One even suggested that the reason his wife had disappeared was because he’d “done her in”. Miss Willow had also spoken to him, so I’m afraid your comments were the final straw. I reassured him that as far as I’m concerned the matter is finished, but it didn’t help. Hopefully he’s recovered now.’
‘I do hope so,’ I said. I hesitated, then I dared to ask: ‘Did you tell him what Marianne said?’ From what Jessie had said, it seemed that she hadn’t mentioned Marianne’s worries to Derek, just mine.
‘Yes. Derek admitted there was a problem between Marianne and Beth. He said they seemed to be jealous of each other and vied for his attention. It was going from bad to worse, which was why he ended his relationship with Marianne. He explained this to Marianne, but it appears she doesn’t want to believe it.’
Put like that it all seemed so rational and reasonable. I felt an absolute fool – a vindictive fool who had caused a lot of trouble and set back Derek’s recovery.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘Will Derek be well enough for Beth to speak to him this evening?’
‘Yes. I should think so. I’m going to telephone the hospital later and see how he is today. If you don’t hear from me, assume he’s all right and telephone as normal. But Cathy, I would appreciate it if you just made the call and then passed the telephone to Beth. I don’t want you engaging in conversation with Derek. Understood?’
‘Yes.’
‘Also, I want Beth to see her father later in the week. The doctor agrees it will help his recovery. I was thinking of Friday after school. I was going to ask you to take Beth, but given the animosity between you and Derek I think it’s better if I take her.’
‘All right,’ I agreed, feeling completely ineffectual.
‘If I don’t speak to you before, I’ll collect Beth at about four o’clock on Friday, and return her after the visit.’
‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘Shall I tell Beth she’ll be seeing her father on Friday?’
‘Yes. It will help cheer her up. Should help cheer up Derek too. Poor man, he was so upset. Inconsolable.’
Which compounded my feelings of guilt and wretchedness.
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